Jean Sibelius
Lemminkäinen Legends · Pohjola's Daughter
Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra · Hannu Lintu, conductor
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Jean Sibelius
Tapiola, Op. 112
En Saga, Op. 9 · Eight Songs, orchestrated by Aulis Sallinen
Anne Sofie von Otter, mezzo-soprano
Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra
Hannu Lintu, conductor
Track listing
10 tracks · 54:58Listen to samples on selected tracks.
Jean Sibelius
- 1 Tapiola, Symphonic Poem for Orchestra, Op. 112 18:14
- 2 En Saga, Op. 9 (1892/1901) 18:40
- Eight Songs, orchestrated by Aulis Sallinen
- 3 De bägge rosorna (The Two Roses), Op. 88 No. 2 5:40
- 4 Sippan (The Anemone), Op. 88 No. 4 1:31
- 5 Dold förening (Hidden Connection), Op. 86 No. 3 1:05
- 6 Under strandens granar (Under the Fir Trees on the Shore), Op. 13 No. 1 1:07
- 7 Kyssens hopp (The Kiss?s Hope), Op. 13 No. 2 1:11
- 8 Hennes budskap (Her Message), Op. 90 No. 2 2:35
- 9 Men min fågel märks dock icke (But my Bird is Nowhere to be Seen), Op. 36 No. 2 2:14
- 10 Jägargossen (The Young Huntsman), Op. 13 No. 7 2:41
About this recording
This new release by the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra conducted by Hannu Lintu is an all-Sibelius programme featuring internationally acclaimed mezzo-soprano Anne Sofie von Otter. The album includes two major tone poems by Jean Sibelius (1865–1957), Tapiola and En Saga, combined with a set of songs orchestrated by Aulis Sallinen (b. 1935) in 2015. • Sibelius’ tone poem Tapiola, written shortly after the 7th Symphony, may be regarded as the culmination of a period that began with the Fifth Symphony, a period where Sibelius created music that grew organically out of tiny germs into huge processes. It was completed in 1926 and remained Sibelius’s last great orchestral work. In Tapiola, Sibelius appears to equate the primacy of nature with the value of art for its own sake, the unattainable truths of which remain uneroded by time or by the shifting ideals of mankind. Sibelius stated to his private secretary: “My inspiration for Tapiola came wholly from nature, or even more accurately from something inexpressible in words.”
The genesis of En Saga, originally premiered in 1892, is also shrouded in mystery, and even later in life Sibelius was reluctant to go into any detail regarding its content. It is among Sibelius’ earliest orchestral works, and its original title in Swedish, En saga, refers to ancient Nordic tales of heroes and gods. Although En saga is among the most popular works by Sibelius today, the premiere of the work was not a success and Sibelius revised the score in 1902.
On the occasion of the 150th anniversary of Sibelius’s birth in 2015 composer Aulis Sallinen (b. 1935) orchestrated a cycle of songs for mezzosoprano Anne Sophie von Otter. This cycle of eight songs contains several less known songs in a cavalcade juxtaposing human emotions and innermost thoughts with the natural environment and experiences in nature.
The recent recordings by the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra under Hannu Lintu on Ondine have gathered excellent reviews in the international press.
Features
Sleeve notes in English and Finnish
The artists
Anne Sofie von Otter
Internationally acclaimed mezzo-soprano, Anne Sofie von Otter is one of the most successful singers of her generation with an extensive and varied discography representing her numerous and diverse operatic roles, her eclectic palette of recital programmes and her immeasurable oratorio and concert repertoire. She collaborated with pop icon Elvis Costello on the disc For the Stars and in October 2010 released her first recording with Naïve, Love Songs, a collaboration with legendary jazz pianist Brad Mehldau. Anne Sofie von Otter’s impressive recording catalogue has been acknowledged by numerous awards including a Grammy Award for Best Classical Vocal Performance for Mahler’s Des Knaben Wunderhorn, a Diapason d’Or for Watercolours – a recording of Swedish songs with her long-term accompanist, Bengt Forsberg – and in 2015 her double CD of French mélodies and chansons, Douce France received the Grammy Award for Best Classical Solo Vocal Album.
Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra
The Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra (FRSO) is the orchestra of the Finnish Broadcasting Company (Yle), and its mission is to produce and promote Finnish musical culture.
Hannu Lintu
Hannu Lintu is one of Finland's most sought-after conductors and is rapidly creating a major international career. He has been Artistic Director and Chief Conductor of the Tampere Philharmonic Orchestra 2009-2013, and also Principal Guest Conductor of the RTÉ National Symphony Orchestra in Dublin. Before assuming the new role of Chief Conductor of the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra from 2013 to 2021, he was the orchestra's Chief Guest Conductor in 2012. Hannu Lintu was previously Chief Conductor of the Turku Philharmonic Orchestra and Artistic Director of the Helsingborg Symphony Orchestra. He is a regular guest conductor with the Avanti! Chamber Orchestra in Finland and was Artistic Director of the orchestra's Summer Sounds festival in 2005. In November 2022, the Gulbenkian Orchestra announced the appointment of Lintu as its next chief conductor.